>> what it has been doing a starting funds on its own, doing deals by itself, seeing if those deals work and if they work, then it goes and says, our deals have worked. commit more money. we will wrap it all. qwest thank you so much. ♪ >> hello. we have stocks fluctuating after a record high. welcome. 59 minutes to going to the closing bell. we're looking to find the best rates for you. the weather --

if the fed were a boring enough institution, i am glad they chose beige for their book color. nothing could be more mundane than that color. i am glad we're back to mundane fluctuating markets. it means no countries are currently being invaded. qwest let's get over to the big previous. >> thank you. we are seeing the russian ukraine system have an effect on one stock in particular. that affects on mobile. this drilling rights to the area in russia. there is potentially some concern out there that if there is some sanction against russia, that would peril their access to the partnership and the land. we are seeing shares drop.

facebook is up. raising is tight -- price target. at the same time, it is saying it will be more strict about trying to prevent illegal activities from happening via its website. shares are up four percent. speaking of gun sales, the legal ones are happening a lot. earnings are beating estimates. the company coming out with a forecast ahead of estimates as it grabs a bigger share of the gun market. boost to gun sales on concerns there would be more regulations. that would be coming down somewhat. newng off of enough innovative products to still grab done dollars. qwest thank you. janet yellen says the fed has more work to do when it comes to fixing the u.s. economy. she spoke this afternoon to the .ed staff

peter cook has more on her comments. public schedule today? a secret event? class it is not often we do not get a heads up the fed chair is about to speak, especially when it comes to talking about the economy. this is something we got last-minute word on that janet yellen was speaking privately to members of the federal reserve and participating in a ceremonial swearing-in. she has sworn in for some time officially. she is joined by her family. ceremonialr the attending. in thisle to serve position was an honor, but he talked about the economy and the challenge ahead for her. she basically says, i'd knowledge we are not there yet in terms of the u.s. economy. she said too many americans cannot find a job still. maximum employment and stable prices. equally clear the economy continues to operate considerably short of these

objectives and she pledges to continue to try to make changes so that the economy meet those objectives. she makes some news or hints at some news in one other portion of her comments i want to share. whatossed the continue on an bernanke did in that job. he initiated press conferences in 2011 is one of many steps to make the federal reserve more transparent. she says i promised to build on his legacy. explicitly say she would have a press conference after every single fed meeting, but that is one of the things speculated on. stay tuned. she promises more to come on the transparency front. finally, she has personal comments about all of those americans who show up, saying she will not forget about those folks when it comes to looking at employment numbers. there is a personal story by each and every one of those numbers. today at the fed.

class a big surprise. now onto the big story. the crisis in the ukraine. the financial underpinning of the struggle is getting longer. the eu is offering as much as $16 billion in aid to the ukraine over the next years. top of the $1 billion the u.s. is working on. the were over natural gas. ukraine and western europe are reliant for a large portion of their energy needs. be a douchewill it -- we have anastasia, ryan, i want to start with you. what are you hearing from the people there and whether they have a sense things will not continue to get worse right now. class a lot to talk about.

let's start with some of the unrest in the east in the country. , an has been the city industrial city of about one million people. about 500 miles east of here. the last few hours, we have seen clashes. we effectively had a group of about 2000 pro-russian protesters. 5000 pro-ukrainian protesters. then the police were brought in separately. a group actually stormed a regional government building there. we heard the day before yesterday president putin talking about why russian forces are in crimea and why he is looking at the ukraine. he talks about the need to protect russian speaking people. this would of course give him an excuse to go in eastern ukraine, something he said he did not see the need for yet. it is certainly something to watch. then at ground zero in his crisis, that is crimea. the crime era peninsula. an intense situation. united nations envoy right now

is hiding out in the airport. he arrived just yesterday and had just visited a ukrainian naval base. as he left, he was greeted by a group of 15 foreign men who told him he should leave and he said he felt threatened so he went to a café and stay there for little while, trying to stay with them. eventually's -- eventually decided it wasn't there for him and went to the airport. after almost 24 hours of a low here, people are still very volatile in the ukraine. class it sounds that way. let me ask you, a $15 billion loan from the eu, will it make a >> it ise right now? certainly a step in the right direction. what thempared to ukrainians have, a terrible situation. they need about $35 billion to help plug the hole. as you remember, several months ago, when the ukraine decided to turn down the eu association agreement, they did so on the knowledge russia was going to

purchase 15 million dollars in credit. the eu has effectively matched what the russians did. kospi with the eu do that? if rush is going to own the country essentially, why should the eu pay to keep it afloat? >> i do not think it wants to admit russia could own the country. class that is deftly part of it. class they obviously do. class v. not sure it does mean russia will own the country. i think that is very much up in the air still. government there has really taken steps to get their affairs in the right order. they are very sure they could work with the eu and the united states in order to get themselves where they need to be. that is optimistic. it is good. a little optimism is good. that is the crux of the

matter, the discussion of who has a vested interest in the ukraine. a lot do. there is much more to this than the first meets the eye. there is an interesting eu has in securing the natural gas pipeline that runs through the ukraine. russia does have pretty -- those things have to be melded together. in thiswhy we are position. class we have been seeing the markets swing pretty wildly. we started this week amidst a lot of concerns this might boil over into a full on more -- war. then big relief yesterday it seemed russia did not intend to invade the rest of the ukraine. at a mixed market ho-hum. what is the effect on the global market if this situation becomes increasingly more tense? >> to answer the question, the first is separatee to do

which country and region we are talking about. the united states, european union, the ukraine and russia. the implication for each one of those markets are very different. for the united states, because of our geographic, distance, from the ukraine, we also do not because we don't have the same financial relationship. the mistakes -- the stakes are quite a bit higher and so are the risks. we can expect to see volatility. that said, within the volatility and dislocation, it is actually an opportunity for investors to reposition if they believe, as i do, the recovery in europe will take hold. class we will continue to watch it all and keep everyone updated. we appreciate you being here today. ryan and hannah. all right. of vladimirnk putin, the word peace does not come to mind.

check it out. [indiscernible] peace prize. >> are we sure it is not a hoax? >> it is not. .rovided a way out whether hes, deserves a nobel peace prize for that is a big question. >> i do not think john mccain would like as much. >> he believes the cold war is still on. crimea are at least keys to maintaining the empire. ♪

>> you can see the room there were he is set to speak and will bring the news is a comes. meanwhile, in the smartest guys in the room decided to exit, should you follow?

-- timing of financial firm it has been very -- very good indicator. you talk about goldman sachs. good timing. in the months leading up to the credit crisis of 2008, you had blackstone and mf global all going public. now we have ready new record high and you have invested in of skyaking advantage high prices, filing for an ipo expected to raise $100 million. we are joined right now by the chairman and ceo of an advertising giant, nbc partners. what is your sense right now about where the markets are?

>> i think there is a fundamental shift that happened that is more board and. -- more important. there has been a movement going to smaller entrepreneurial or firms. they are capitalizing on this. >>why do they need this? -- toant capital and diversify the talent pool. if you look at the returns of the boutique investment bank, they have done exceedingly well .n we are four years into a cycle.

gd both -- edie growth -- growth -- unemployment is mediocre. >> doesn't seem like when the smartest guys in the room are selling, it would be a little risky to buy? >> i do not they going public and putting capital into the treasury is indicative of selling. it is an opportunity to put at aal into the business time where they can monetize value. it is not the same as selling equity on a secondary issue where they are cashing out. when you saw yesterday $1.2 to the top four people at apollo, that it has been extraordinary. you talk to people likely cooperman. he would give you very sound and fundamental reasons why we have got two or three left in the

cycle. >> some reasons being the low interest-rate environment. qwest also, companies are doing well. our corporate clients are doing nicely. >> are they willing to spend? you are an advertising guy. spends expected to grow by three or four percent. i think the uncertainty about the fiscal policy is --sing corporations >> what would give you more confidence that you know exactly what to expect about taxation policy and health care reform, etc.. there is no indication about what the final outcome would be. 70% of the business are outside of america. they are in china and russia and

brazil. those markets are growing. each one differently, but china, i read yesterday, seven or eight percent growth in the economy. not nine or 10% of where it was. i do not see anything on the horizon. there is nothing on the horizon that gives you consternation and says the fundamentals of the --nomy >> the fed has been it's a much money. qwest we produced a surplus. you noticed the fiscal reform has been so uncertain. as a result, they cut expenses. the canadian mindset is you have to have a bounce budget. qwest we have john kerry speaking now. >> a tremendous job.

none of us want the importance of what we came here to talk about with respect to lebanon be lost. in all of the obvious discussions taking place on the question of the ukraine. the company that came to paris today for this important and timely meeting have all bound us together by a strong commitment to lebanon. a serious conflict bills over -- lebanon's borders the crisis grows we are deeply for the security and sovereignty for their ability to be able to chart their own futures and fulfill the same basic apps --

with everyone else on the planet. i would showed a very dramatic charring effect goes through the last four years four differed charts to show you the extraordinary change in lebanon is a splotch of red instead of red dots. the entire borders read today because of the refugees in lebanon. impactan extraordinary on the dynamics of budget. people are looking for work, people who work for less, it drives wages down and changes it for that nation. the united states is proud to provide in lebanon just in the the development

process. $340 million for the last few years in humanitarian aid. we will continue our lebanese and other security astute. you cannot talk about the values of sovereignty, security, determination, and economic opportunity without coming quickly back to the events of the last days in the ukraine. ukrainian sold me yesterday how desperately they wanted government that has the consent of the people. themn economy that gives the chance to live like everybody else. been ine mystery had australia and come back and say, we just want to live like you live. ourt separately with ukrainian counterpart.

.nd our russian counterpart we met as a group also appeared a group of concerned countries. agreed to discussions in the coming days with russia and the ukrainians in order to see a how we can help normalize and stabilize the overcome the crisis. intentions are in tashard shared exactly as i have russia,d them between the nice its european countries, and ukrainians who were here. is parties agreed today it important to resolve these through dialogue. united states is focusing intensely on a remedy or do not

believe, as you rest of us believe, president obama does not believe it, i do not believe the other countries we're working with the no they do not believe any of us are served by greater or further competition. we met today to discuss these issues because we cannot and allow the integrity and sovereignty of the country of the ukraine to be violated and for those violations to go unanswered. russia's violation of ukraine's as in a world in support of the ukrainian people. this morning, secretary hagel announced the defense department is taking concrete steps to stepsre our nato allies

like expanding our aviation contributions our . this is on top of other steps the united states is artie taking wake suspending bilateral discussions -- >> you have been listening to secretary of state reiterating the u.s. support of the ukraine. we are here on set with our guest and we were just talking earlier about the ukraine. we spoke earlier with our reporter on the ground. sensed there was a earlier that maybe things have reached a lull. that is not the case now. we have a secretary of state saying we're here to defend the ukraine. what does that mean you a -- meaning? -- mean?

a case not believe it is or might economic sanchez. his a board to keep in mind russia has a lot of parts -- cards they hold as well. cards or the natural gas the west is dependent on. you he is a jacksonian guy. a tough guy. he will stop at less than we will. and he is willing to put a lot more on the line qwest as he does not do the same laws >> he's not necessarily a rational player you have -- rational player? >> he is extremely rational. you know exact the what he will do. when you do one thing, and he

will react if you tell a what it is going to be. unless i do not think he is looking for a announcement to respect nonetheless. >> he does not care. you can watch the rest of john kerry's, you on our website. we will be right back. ♪

collects i shall call you fernando. crisis is potpourri. is all part of american express campaign to launch a branch -- a brand for average americans. based on how much you use the card rather than how much you spend. that is why tina fey wanted to , when the rewards kick

in. we're joined now by the man behind it. thank you for being here. we were talking about this as being a mom card. why do you need to target women? >> we looked at different segments of the american the women and we have an incredible customer franchise, belinda looked at the group we call multitaskers, and there is no better example than moms, we realized they were not applying for american express cards. many women and mothers our -- our customers. qwest why do you think they were not applying echo dest applying? reward maybe some number of times i use the card, not just here thech i spend

moms named the card. this is my everyday american express card, which is where we got the name from pier from. no better source than customers. the first product in that women's are moms, but you must be the first credit card to be specifically marketed toward one gender, one group. for the card apply but moms in particular are an important segment. qwest they are the cfo's of the family. qwest exactly. control over 70% of household expenditures and are using the card everyday. pain for vacations, going shopping for the family. they are the cfo's and we want to make sure they saw american express cares about them and wants to find ways to help them. >> the point of that is the ad campaign is well. >> tina fey is very likable that she is a mom. she was involved in the creative

process. >> let me ask you about all of this concern about security. target, it feels like these hacking attacks for people with credit card information keith appling. bluee are worried about using their cards. what is america's best doing differently that gives some people more reassurance? >> the cards will be -- the card will be washed with a chip on it. it has higher levels of security. >> that is important. the chip idea. >> right now, it is the signature, which is different. it provides high-level security. qwest not the kind of security people outside of the u.s. are used to. >> it is different than what is used out in the u.s.. ash outside the u.s.. the card is launched with a chip

and all cards in the u.s. will eventually be. we will start this on with it. >> when i first heard these ads, i thought it sounds great because there is not a fee. with the fee, i feel he said is how i am pay for my services. they can get me tickets and buy me a gift. fewerhis card offer services or is not as targeted? >> each card is curtailed for the needs it is focused on. the cards are the best if you are a frequent traveler. these are focused on the needs of multitaskers, mom. mom's designed it. >> i like a monk and all the credit. i have got three. you have got field to multitask. >> this card is designed for you. it is backed by world-class service. the highest customer satisfaction in the industry. the award six times. it comes with our service, measured -- membership rewards.

you get double points at supermarkets and a 20% bonus if you use the card 20 or more times in any given time. and as targeted to the multitasker. it is free. versionm -- a premium with more benefits. qwest thank you for joining us. president of american express. our team had a lot to say about the spirit were talking about it. ♪ >> they made a lot with this card to pay a lot of money to peer in an ad. the oscars. why do soccer moms need a credit card? class i'm curious to know about all the data breaches. class that is the second question. they have a chip on the card. anti-fraud. >> if target ever really cared , this card would

be useful there. >> i shall call you fernando. ♪

>> my host was a 24-year-old entrepreneur. if his name sounds familiar, here's why. bit instant.of he was recently arrested and charged a $1 million money-laundering scheme. .e denies the charges

certainly, these issues, with the bitcoin currency, do not seem to stop. i took a look at some of them in the latest usa today column, which you can read online on usa today's website. the dark side of bitcoin. whoing us, an associate wrote a piece on this. when you are in law school in 2011, really looking at the organs of bitcoin -- the origins of bitcoin. walk us through. qwest a long time ago, a group or people who were libertarian did not like control by the government. in any shape or form. list and an e-mail lot of what they discussed was technical ways of getting around government control and some familiar names, bram cohen, who

created bitcoin it -- bit torrent. one of the things they discussed in an anarchist is -- society without government control, howdy have money? there was an later,d a few years satoshi okamoto, a fictional character no one knows who he is, was actually able to implement it. it was called bitcoin. he releases software into the internet and it exploded from there. qwest what is interesting, and you cite does, back in 2011, there was a group of people trying to contribute to wikileaks. paypal and the u.s. government caught on and basically shut it ways he see them in some this is much -- as much of a political movement as anything else? over -- >>r cap -- earlier on, if you going to the

user form, you can see people with views quite outside the mainstream. people who think the federal and no should not exist one should pay taxes. it has grown up since then. department of financial services recently had a hearing. the display of witnesses were nothing like the people originally involved in bitcoin in the beginning. these were all investors and not the doors with people with millions of dollars who have been around the block in terms of the traditional financial system. it has grown up. it does have some of those people still involved who are extreme in different ways and outside the mainstream. -- they are a smaller portion of bitcoin. >> what is the most important thing bitcoin can have happened does it need to be ultimately regulated? >> it depends on what you mean by succeed. most people would say success is acceptance into the mainstream.

for that to happen, you need regulation. we had mount blowup recently. what that shows is you need to have standards to make sure that exchange -- the bitcoins are doing in a way that is secure. almost every single exchange or haset that has existed blown up, has been hacked, or entrepreneurs have as -- of scone did. there are new ones focusing on security and going through great lengths to work with regulators in the u.s.. i hope those succeed. i'm looking forward to more regulation. end of the day, if you're going to secure a volatility problem and the currency has gone from $100 to $1200, if you will cure the volatility, you need to have more people using it and people need to feel safe and secure. how can they feel safe and secure if there is no actual radiation? >> that is right. it,t of factors go into

being volatile is one. recently, there was indication from china the government would crack down and not allow people to trade bitcoin. there was a huge selloff and the price crash. whenever you have pronouncements from different governments that seem like they're saying, you cannot do this, there will be a lot of fluctuation. as we get more right with -- regulation, it will help volatility but i do not think it will ever go away. if you look at gold, where there is all the certainty of the world about the legal -- legal status, it is volatile. the coin is meant to be similar. it is meant to be for synthetic commodity, limited in amount. gold is a limited amount. more trickling out each year. yet, it is fairly volatile. having regulation will help volatility. >> i wonder we have this as the queen's dark days. i am one of the people outside the mainstream. i would have thought of myself

that way. i do not like to pay taxes. i'm not a huge fan of the fed. i do not need bitcoin to be excepted in the mainstream. i'm just not one of the sheep very >> what is interesting is even if you define success more narrowly, which is, you do not have to have everyone using it as long as people who do not believe in the government can use it is fine, there is an artificial taxable people. exchange, every wallet, almost all them have been had. if you think about what insurance premiums you would have to pay to make people whole, it is high. there is an invisible tax in using bitcoin that people do not realize. interesting. even for people who do not believe in government and did not believe regulation is good for bitcoin, the improvement that will come from more focus on this from regulatory bodies will help them. >> janet yellen talking about it. thank you.

you can check out my full piece today at usa today.com. or in his favor. coming up, twins are heading to space. our team wonders if they are that are off in a double mint commercial. check out more today's agenda. >> the twins who started it coin fund, the index. they will be paying for their ride. they are like six foot tall twins, the barbie twins of men. west the double mint twins? >> not as good as the double mint twins but the same thing. ♪

>> total ad spending has never outgrown the overall economy. we're joined now by came back with -- and the head of research for bloomberg businessweek, who recently wrote about the static ad business. what is going on? the idea that it is not changing. as a percent of gdp, we saw the chart. it is one percent and oh it has been that way for a century you compare it to industries like the financial and insurance industries and we have seen a triple. we have seen manufacturing the down and technology go up. they have been flat one percent. >> it is counterintuitive. you think of that growing right now because of social media and online advertising. with thel grow economy. you expect three or four percent growth. that is about what we expect with the economy.

qwest there's one thing you're not considering. earned media is not part of measured media. all social media, facebook, twitter, youtube, that stuff, that stock -- that is part of it. other parts are flat. he earned media part is growing. factored the economic value of earned media, it probably doubled in the last five years. would you think that is their? >> that is what i wanted to ask you about. you see a lot of consolidation happening from the nonworking dollars base. the strategy of additional and all the stuff that does not get measure. qwest absolutely. if you take a look at it, facebook has 1.1 billion users. 60% of its revenue now is mobile advertising. years ago.tually 03 twitter has got 650 million. 50% of its subscribers are our

mobile customers. mobile advertising is growing. i see, as he said, it is changing share. tong from traditional media social, mobile, experiential, analytics. >> the size of the pie is getting bigger and bigger. qwest yes. it is not growing as a percentage of gdp but in proportion to gdp. it grossed three percent this year. it will grow three percent to four percent. acquire you need to more at companies in order to gain more market share? >> in our particular case, we are counterintuitive. when others are fearful, you should be greedy. when others are greedy you should be fearful. in 2001, we were very ambitious. 2001 -- in two oven a, ambition came. >> are you feeling ambitious now?

we thank you very much. the head of research at bloomberg businessweek. ♪

upwe will get you caught with the only stocks you need to know about. it is time for the top 10. i will kick it off with number 10. after the plummeting drugmaker said it will halt testing its new arthritis drug after two studies showed it was not effective enough. credit suisse to downgrade stocks. class number nine is ups. just up slightly after it announced it will spend $70 million to buy 1000 delivery trucks. the company will build 50

fueling stations expanding the largest private alternatives energy in the u.s.. class number eight is petsmart. shares are falling after the pet supplies retailing reported first-quarter earnings that topped estimates. revenue did miss estimates. the company is also met -- issuing a prominent -- promising forecasts. i shop there all the time. >> nice. three cap. whole thing. class number seven, delta airline. shares are trading up slightly on the new spring airline travel rose the highest in six years according to airlines for america. murica. murica. [laughter] class i do not know what to say about that. shares are up four percent. the social network is cracking down on illegal gun sales. facebook sent a blog post today where users declare a

willingness to break the law like selling a gun without a background check or transparent again -- transporting it across state lines. an upgrade came in today and said it would grab more share of marketing dollars. class number five, target. either 1 -- shares are down one percent. the company announced it will seek a new top technology executive pay ritchie resigned today after holding a cio position two 2008. this comes after a security breach. some analysts are saying there really needs to be a technology , somethinghe role she does not have, and that is why the transition was there. class they need to do >> and they needed to do something, right? especially because people were staying away from target. >> and it has affected their

bottom line. >> and many are wondering about the state of the u.s. dollar now. four is smith and wesson. third-quarter profits above estimates. and a great day for the company because people love handguns in this country. >> and smith & wesson guns in particular. apparently, their guns are particularly appealing. they have high-end and they appeal to when and. >> i have a whole arsenal at home. shot --'m a really good >> i'm a really good shot. with the latest companies

saying guess what, severe weather had an effect on sales. [closing bell] >> and there is the closing bell in the background. >> number one, exxon mobil is down on concerns that international exploration opportunities will be halted due to conflict with russia and ukraine. the company is to begin drilling in the arctic later this year. facenies could restrictions on doing business with russia if john kerry's threats prove valid. you heard the closing bell. let's take a look at where markets finished the day. we were not looking at any big moves today. you see the s&p unchanged. at 1873, so not unchanged at

a low level. the dow jones down 31. 16,364 is the level. and the nasdaq basically unchanged. do we want to talk about the markets? >> exxon mobil was down, but the energy group was down overall. >> inventories rose here in the u.s. for seven straight weeks. >> let's get to the roundup. time for the stories and ahead of tomorrow -- tomorrow's open. much happier than yesterday, right? i heard you screaming obscenities in the newsroom yesterday. we all did, actually. >> it was a horrible day. you for joining us. let's kick it off with julie. >> we were talking earlier about janet yellen. let's talk about ben bernanke.

he earned more in 40 minutes then he made all last year as head of the central bank. he was paid $50,000 for his first public speaking engagements since stepping down. 2013 wasl salary for under $200,000. conference in abu dhabi, attendees paid $200,000 each to -- $2000 each to listen to them. we talked about family and sports. >> you are paying this guy and it evolves into that? >> if you are getting paid that much, don't you feel an obligation to say something that is actually worth much money? >> no, not at all. did the average and it's something like $11,000 per minute for bill clinton. >> he makes three or four or

five times. >> can you actually get that much information in one minute? >> it's all relative. but we are looking at abu dhabi, compared to say, pittsburgh. about three hundred $34,000 in today's dollars. >> and that was a private meeting. this was a public event and that was private. >> ben bernanke says he can now say anything, but we all know that is not true. at tradersking convicted for fraud that resulted in a record loss. is what they're calling the tierney of finance. l began his 875 mile walk after a brief meeting

with pope francis. either way, his rosaries are blessed. his lawyer said he risked being jail as his last appeal was rejected this month and he has been deprived of everything in a lasix month, but he's a free man, so walked -- everything in the last six years, but he's a free man, so he walked to meet the people. 77% of french responder saw him as a victim in this whole scandal. >> the french have a healthy respect for disrespect of authority. when i lived there, i cannot tell you how many times i saw somebody jumped the turnstile in the subway in new york city. -- how many times have you seen somebody jumped the turnstile in the subway new york city? >> quite a lot. >> really? in paris, everybody jumps the turnstile. >> everybody thinks that the jump -- the turnstile is just a free ride. >> the french like a rebel. >> you don't think that they threw him under the bus?

breeze tour ofor socgen? >> didn't he actually steal money? >> he lost about $70 billion in trade and made fraudulent documents and e-mails to showed that he hedged stuff when he didn't, and that is why the losses were so big. that is when he was saying that he was falsely accused and was a scapegoat. > speaking of running -- >> i'm talking about walking, not running. ac milan is up for sale. former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi. that is according to three with the matter. lazard is the investment banker on this and they have been sending what some call in the industry extended teasers out on the team to potential buyers. this is a team that is worth million.5 it is not a cheap team and it

the sixth most expensive stock in the world. >> this is your scoop. you broke the story. the morehat was behind salty language we were hearing in the newsroom. >> we had to get it sourced up. >> anymore on the buyers for that? to be some deep-pocketed asians, people are speculating. sold tor milan team was a group of indonesian buyers. >> why not russians? >> or the russians, because they own premier league teams, chelsea,, i think my and manchester united, right? >> yes. >> it has to be somebody who has a pretty open-ended checkbook. and hisugh berlusconi company spent so much money recruiting these players to the steam recently, they have not been able to move up on the scoreboard.

they are ranked number 10 in the italian rankings. it a heavily invested in portfolio? >> oh, yeah. >> but even bigger, because it's soccer, you know. >> what do you have for suckers? -- four soccer? >> it's for kids. >> you are just saying that because there are better looking guys out there. of better looking guys, the winchester boys are headed into space. unfortunately, they are not staying. i'm kidding. they are using bitcoin to get there. tyler uighur boss, happy to 2winklevoss and i have used bit boring -- bitcoins

to become virgin galactic , no doubt number 700 and 701. they are two technologies that meaningfully represent our focus . the statement goes on and on. i think it is an incredibly lengthy statement, but it's such a cool thing because you've got , right? you've got richard branson, whose awesome. and you got the point. was ayou've got it going >> is this an attempt to unvarnished -- unvarnished mt. gox?rom all of the >> no. maybe it is to improve their name. >> what a bad name.

>> think about how many times we are going to talk about it related to richard branson. >> well, you brought it up. >> is it a pr stunt at the end of the day? >> no, i'm sure they want to go to space. do you not want to go to space? i want to. if you did want to go to space and you were superrich, it would be pretty awesome. >> i would rather spend my money on a ferrari or something. >> i would do both if i had that much money and they do. how long will they have to wait if they are 700? because nobody has gone yet, right? >> no, not yet, but assuming they take 10 people at a time, right? >> maybe it is a virtual trip. >> no, it will be real. i think it is pretty awesome. out, ellen, because terry shipman and his dogs are trying to take your title.

we also saw the selfie that ellen napped at the oscars. it got the most retreats. but terry, who just about 10 days ago only had about 20 followers, he's trying to beat mr. generous. -- ellen. this guy just kind of came out of nowhere. it is him and his yorkie. i'm not sure with the other dog is. and he has just joined twitter. you could think, is this a hoax by one of the late-night host? his son is one of the people that follows him, and his son appears to be a teenager, young guy who has been tweeting for a while. does this make twitter uncool that a person of his demographic, assuming that he is of facebook demographic, is actually on twitter? >> no, he just loves puppies.

dogs, puppies, and babies, the three things that you should never put on said because nobody else will take -- pay attention to what you are doing. that is it. they are done. >> i do not find it very interesting, no offense. >> how could you not? >> i do, but i don't love these qb dogs. >> i like the fact that the common man can try to get as many as alan. >> it is admirable. , even you,u, ladies for joining us. fitness onthe ceo of the gin's new record, and what goes into making those clever ads more street smart after the break. ♪

>> and that is why i don't like jim's. >> we are not a gym. we are planning fitness. >> it makes fun of those who ruin the gymnasium experience. memberships can cost as little as $10 a month. the club is trying to create a judgment free zone and long alarms that go off if a member demonstrate poor etiquette. -- it even offers free pizza and bagels once a month. they have hit the 5 million member mark. it is paying off. joining me now is the ceo and cofounder, chris rundell. talk to us about the ad campaign. it has gotten you a lot of attention. i assume it's a big driver between the growth that you've seen.

-- behind the growth that you've experienced. >> someone who is intimidated that normally would not go, you are making it a lighthearted atmosphere. >> wasn't in the nation a problem in the past? > previously, i would have thought of planet fitness like a goldstein jim. -- a goal gym. 85% of the population does not belong to a health club. >> does not belong deco >> yes to my so if you the rest of the industry is fighting over the 15%. we are going after the 85%. in commercial brings them and then you throw down the $10 price point. >> $10 is very inexpensive. i don't want to sound cynical, but are you counting on people joining gyms and never showing up? because i know that's what i do. >> people come and go. you take a week off, taking the kids to soccer, working late.

if you don't make it this week, no big deal. the same product shows the quality is right there. >> we were all talking about it in our show meeting. i payody says, you know, x amount of dollars and never go, and that's what they want. can you make more money off of a client actually comes in? >> if they are not using the store, eventually they will cancel. you want them to come in. you make it fun and enjoyable. when i was working out, it was like a chore. your lawn.owing the lighthearted approach with the purple and yellow colors, the long --lunk alarm on the wall. >> give us an example of bad etiquette for which i would go and pull the alarm? clicks dropping weights. having that attitude when you

walk around the gym and look around. the thing. is someone who grunts and drops weights. i cannot push a huge pile of iron off my chest? >> no, absolutely not. >> i wouldn't be able to do it anyway. >> it's like being at a bar when someone is talking on a cell phone. >> do people get busted to talk on the cell phone? >> they have to be in the lobby. but they can watch extreme videos while they are doing cardio. >> what does the future look like for planet fitness? this big, you fit growth mark, and i don't want to take that away from you, but are you looking to hit 10 next? are you going public? >> we opened in denton, texas today.

there is tons of white space out there. we started in the northeast, which is where we are concentrated. about 4.5% of the total -- total population today. there is so much room for growth for us. in new york, we are snobby people walking around with our latte and going to soul cycle and flywheel. is this an ultra luxury end of this spectrum? how do you think of that competition? >> a lot of people belong to those because they really like those, but they still have us for their cardio's and showers and things like that. spinning is a tough workout. not everyone walks in their first time it gets on a soul cycle bike. >> i did at one time and i will never do it again. >> it is tough. >> it's very difficult. >> the first timer is not looking for that. thatlt this gymnasium so my wife and my mother could walk in and work out. they will not walk into a hard-core jim -- gymnasium for

the first time. >> you are basically looking for someone who is new to the field basell use your jim as a -- gym as a base. >> most are just looking to make it in two or three days a week. with the judgment free zone, a lot of them can come in like that. >> i'm glad. i would not want to be judged either. thank you, chris. 5 million people at planet fitness. coming up, we will head to capitol hill where elon musk testified in front of congress today. what does he want from the u.s. government? we will tell you, next. ♪

smart" on "street bloomberg television. the only financial news network you can watch live on your mobile device. elon musk wants to get in the pentagonof sending satellites into space. he took to capitol hill is going to take his case -- make his case. he called out his chief competitors russian engines. yang yang joins us now with the highlights. a south african playing the u.s. nationalist card against russia.

>> we sure do. when you think about it, you cannot really blame him one a 70 billion dollar military satellite launch program is that a currently. that program is dominated by its competitor, united launch alliance. today before lawmakers, musk said that his competitors's atlas five rocket is made with engines made in russia, and he says that now with everything going on, if not the time to let them hold onto the exclusive contracts. >> we have severed military ties with russia. we are contemplating sanctions. it doesn't make sense to reward russia right now with a huge multi-hundred million dollar for rocket engines. that would be inconsistent with policy and not the right thing to do. it is crazy to me. hey, we are spacex. we are made in america. that comment came at a subcommittee hearing on defense.

job --s not the only jab. russia aside, musk said that he was concerned about potential sanctions that my going to place. >> you don't want to run out of rocket engines. these two ceos together? >> a technicality brought them together with the air forces expendable launch vehicle program. it is a $70 billion program. spacex has yet to snag one of the these launches because it still waiting for certification. right now, you will a, a joint venture between lockheed martin and boeing, is the only approved rocket maker sending satellites up there. it's a monopoly they've had for years and musk wants to break into that. he made that point today in congress. >> more from washington after

the break. another delay for obama care. could the changes actually end up helping the democrats? stay with us to find out. ♪

>> good news today for those who wanted to keep health plans that did not meet obama requirements. the administration minutes ago officially announced a two-year extension for those policies. you can keep your health care plan if you like it. at least, for now. hughes andby megan our guest from the washington institute. megan, phyllis in on what just happened. -- fill us in on what just happened. >> it is really a grab bag of fixed -- of exchanges, not just this two-year extension.

and the treasury department were involved, as well as hhs. they are giving states more time to decide if they want to have their own exchanges. insurers will have an extra month to sign people up in the open enrollment time frame for next year. basically, for 2015, they have taken a look at a number of things where there were concerns and complaints. and there may be tweaks. does include a two-year extension on people who were able to keep their noncompliant plans. this is october of last year where people started getting cancellation notices. obama, of course, got tremendous backlash for his comment, "if you like your plan, you can keep it" and people were saying that he was not keeping that promise. so they changed course. they changed it on a state-by-state basis for people to keep their plans. many states did, and now they will have the option through 2017 to have these noncompliant lands that do not follow under

the law. they do not follow insurance maternity care. >> it was something that the president said repeatedly, over and over again, in order to get the people of this country behind his health care reform law. you can keep your current health care plan if you like it. it was a promise. it was a statement that he made of fact. lying to thedent american people directly knowingly, or did he not understand his own health care law? >> there was a wall street article a few months ago that dug into this and found that the health care policies -- policy experts in the white house repeatedly tried to counsel the white house not to have this explicit declaration because it wasn't true. everyone knew it was not true. the bill was designed to render those plans illegal. but the white house said we cannot have any caveats, because that would risk failure of passing the bill and it would confuse people. they knew what they were doing.

>> though they were purposely lying to everyone? have we learned nothing from richard nixon? it sounds ridiculous. a statement from john boehner. you expect him and frankly, the wall street journal also, to write this kind of thing. what is the backlash on capitol hill today? it possible the president will allow us as he said he would to keep our health care plans if we like them? >> one of the big questions swirling around this announcement is, was this a decision based on the midterm elections? if you look at extending it for a year, that means people will be extending cancellation .olicies this is right around the time the senate is up for grabs and people are going to the polls. it would obviously be a huge republican target, as it already is. prosperity, the

groups that they fund, they already have ads out. it would have made this more of an issue and it would have been a bigger splash right before the elections. white house officials today said absolutely not, this was not a political decision. -- make the case >> and russia didn't send any russian soldiers into the ukraine. >> i knew you would be skeptical. >> how could you not be skeptical? >> there is no doubt that it was political. by congress, the affordable care act, makes very clear that all of those old lands have to be illegal starting january 1, 2014. the executive branch does not have the authority to rewrite a congressional statute through regulatory action. the legality of this move, there is no legal precedent -- actually, there is. there is no legal justification

for simply ignoring a congressional statute, saying, we have just decided that these plans that we said were not legal, we are now deciding that they are again. >> megan? wasou don't buy that this not a political move, but the other case that we are hearing from the white house is that this is a negligible amount of people. at this point, somewhere between 500,000 and 1.5 million people, but as the years go on you will see more and people choosing to go on -- more and more people choosing to go on the exchanges. drop of people will just out, or their circumstances will change. by the time we get to 2017 it will not matter. >> we know that it is political, because the white house explicitly and overtly resisted this kind of move for a long time when a lot of other people were pushing for it, and only change their mind relatively recently when the news stories

started to appear with people really angry, and the approval rating of the president sank. and a lot of democrats who were nervous about 2014 lobbied the white house hard to change the stance. is not a policy the white house has always had. they have always argued that you've got to have everyone in one pool, because that is the only way the exchanges will work. the other thing i would say is, yes, it does matter. what you will do now is create a aecedent by if there is republican president in 2016, he can just say, president obama delayed these provisions for the rest of his presidency, so why do i have to go forward with them? he could just say, i will suspend the individual mandate, suspend these insurance regulations. there is nothing the democrats will be able to do about it. >> it's a good point, and even if the individual mandate comes back into play, assuming a republican wins office, i

suppose he or she could suspend the individual mandate in the next presidency. do think there are probably some valid concerns about what kind of precedent this sets. i'm not here to defend the white house. they certainly believe these rules, these changes that they made for 2015 are within the letter of the law. >> maybe they are telling the truth this time. thank you very much, megan hughes, and or rick roy rum the manhattan institute. coming up, we will talk to reality star jeff lewis about his amazing business. thousands ofas bargain items in stock. but there are five items you will not believe the company actually sells, including that one that you are looking at. you could die in something from cosco. ♪

>> bravo tv is known for its many reality shows, from matchmaking to housewives to home flipping. one of the popular shows and probably the only one i will watch, flipping out. it follows a house flipper jeff lewis. house flipping is on the rise, up 114% since 2011. and here to join me now to talk about it, and thank you for coming in. were talking about this morning's show and a lot of people who did not watch it were amazed that you've been doing this throughout the crisis, and

successfully. innobody was flipping homes 2008, 2009, 2010. a number could be three people. >> but you were doing it. i know i sort of watching your show in 2009, 2010. you were doing it. >> i was doing it, and doing it well. at the bottom fell out and i had to reinvent myself and i used my myw as a platform to promote design business. that made sense. what do i do? i do construction and design. >> we are seeing here a little bit of the show, and you have a couple of people who work with you. i was wondering if you brought jenny, but i guess she is not here. thatis it about this cast everybody loves? >> i think, to have a good show, first and foremost, you have to have chemistry. these people i've worked with for years and years, as long as 12 years some of them, and if you don't relate to me, you

relate to someone in the cast. the show is relatable and there is real chemistry. >> one of the interesting things is that unlike other reality shows, you are all on. made -- main the character in the show for a long time, whereas housewives come and go. does patty still have her show? >> she does. >> she has different guest on all the time, but your show is about you and your relationship with those people. >> it is, but as much as i'm in the forefront and it revolves around my life, i don't want to underestimate the characters. ,verybody that works for me they are big personalities. they are very likable. it is almost like seinfeld in that, that is the secret. it really is an ensemble cast. and all these people really work for me. it is real. lives with me,y which i know a strange, because i'm almost 44 years old. i think that is one of the

reasons we've been around for seven seasons now. we stayed very true to the story. last season, it was drama heavy. it was not really what i would have wanted, but it was not a good year for me. this year, it's different. it's like, fun. -- it is light and fun. business is good. and patty is the billionaire matchmaker. she has taken this reality show and made it work for her and parlayed it into multiple streams of income, which is exactly what i have done. there are very few of us that have actually done it in a smart way. for me, this has been multiple streams of income. i do design consultations, speaking engagements, product lines. i just took a big creative director position for a furniture line in the west coast. we take advantage of the opportunities, and that is what cap does. -- what patty does. but fewer entre nous worse. >> we do not do this to get on tv and get recognized. -- >> you are on screen worse. >> we do not do this to get on

tv and get recognized. we are there for the money. i feel like everyone else is doing it for fame. fax i'm looking at the other shows that you have here -- >> i'm looking at the other shows that you have here. million dollar listing is very popular here in new york. and the millionaire matchmaker, everyone has at least heard of it. you patty ever try to find a match? >> she has tried to get me on her show, and i've declined. she also try to set up jenny before she found her second husband. >> i was telling you when you that i love your show. and you said, if i had a dollar for every straight guy that has said that. it is not the demographic that you expect. you are doing construction projects, renovations, seeing things through rum start to finish. i get away with it because i've got releases.

knock on wood, there have not been too many lawsuits. but what are you going to do? >> what else is going to happen? you mention your creative director for another company. you mentioned that you've got a design consult for someone here in new york. what do you see for jeff lewis? >> when the housing market crashed, i had one stream of income that completely dried up. and i will never, ever be in a position again. i had all my eggs in one basket. what i learned about this is to save a little bit more money this time around. and i also learned that i don't want to rely on one stream of income. i have done my best to create six or seven streams of income, so if one dries up, i have six others. >> but the one that left you high and dry at first is doing well again, right? >> i'm not flipping. >> why? business isy design lucrative and i have paychecks every friday whereas before i

got five to seven a year. and there is no risk. there is no need for me to risk my money in flipping homes. >> but you still have your finger on the pulse of the housing market. >> absolutely. and i'm still doing my personal investing, i'm just not flipping. and when i'm hired to go into someone's home, i will not spend their money needlessly. especially if someone is hiring me to fix up their house to sell. i look at who is buying houses and what they want. sometimes people want a pool and sometimes they don't. sometimes they want huge master suite, and if they have four kids, they don't. you have to figure out who your target audience is. tvseff lewis from bravo "flipping out." when we come back, we will talk -- give you that ranking we were talking about. ♪

stocks cosco floor-to-ceiling with good you can buy in bulk, but here are some of the most unexpected organs. -- bargains. ♪

>> if you want more rankings, go to bloomberg.com/rank. if you are wondering why julia is so inappropriately dressed, it's because she wanted more rankings. she was headed out the door -- out the door, but came back to watch this. why costconfused would carry any of these things.

>> the casket seemed a bit weird to me. >> they were all a little bit weird. >> that is it for us today. more "street smart" tomorrow. ♪

>> it is 56 past the hour and bloomberg is on the markets. trading was relatively mixed. the only one in the green, the nasdaq, up by about 1/10 of one percent. the s&p relatively flat as well as the dow jones, down slightly. traders digesting not only ukraine's crisis, the weaker than estimated that on payroll, and the isn dropping to a four-year low. the s&p is looking at utilities and energy and telecom as the big losers. steve wood is calling for rock

-- stocks to rise by the end of the year. however he warns that there is a global squeeze for investors brought on by central banks. he talked about it this morning on "in the loop." >> it's what we've been calling for years to squeeze play. we know the federal reserve, the pan -- the bank of japan to a lesser degree, and europe. to the extent that they take away that investment option, what investors might have called yield in the past and try to get to the rate that they need, the federal reserve and banks globally are taking that away and forcing investors into more risk oriented assets. >> that is why you are saying that stocks will continue to rally. >> one thing to look at is the liquidity driven bull market. another way to look at it is that the fed is reducing the more secure risk to risk options that investors face. that squeeze play will go on for the foreseeable future. the game is what kind of

portfolio becomes appropriate. and the challenges are there for those companies that can demonstrate the pricing power. they will become the darlings of the market. >> and they will be where? >> is one of the things we like, and financials in second place. in terms of a sector plays. energy independent north america is a good thing in the next five to seven years. thosellout effects from will be rather significant. manufacturing is improving. where the united states is globally very competitive, but they are internally focused. the u.s. is a big economy, but does not trade a lot compared to hong kong or south korea. it is more inward focused sales. >> we are more of a consuming economy. >> certainly. >> we also asked him about his outlook for treasuries this

year. >> interest rates are creeping up. we're looking at a 10 year government bond privacy year being at the 3.4 rate. you are looking flat in that environment. a lot of investors had been used to this raging bull market for over three decades. we think we are in the waning days of that play. if you take off inflation, you're kind of zero-ish. >> speaking of, let's take a look at where treasuries ended today's session. creep last hour, they higher, but overall a very tight range for the treasury market. like i said in the last hour, there was a little rush into the treasury markets and safe haven buying. and turning to commodities, you have to look at oil. booming on u.s. data, not on ukraine and russia. u.s. inventories finding for a seventh straight week, leading to some weakness in commodities. also, pointing out that

commodity -- refining capacity is down. as they make the transition from winter into spring. i'm alix steel. ♪

♪ >> this is "taking stock" for wednesday, march 5, 2014 i. i am pimm fox. ou he isr theme and is a risk. -- our theme is a risk. nfl wide receiver, taking a risk in the restaurant business. we have got details. taking the financial temperature and looking at the risks of investing in las